Their host was a slim, active man, not so tall as Marcelino, but apparently some few years his senior. His complexion was a bright yellow with a ruddy tinge in his smooth cheeks. His hair, jet-black and glossy, was of very coarse texture, falling down to his shoulders in a scarcely perceptible wave; had it been cut short it would have appeared quite straight. A small black moustache graced his thin upper-lip, and a slight fringe of black hair on his chin did duty as a beard. His eyes, black also, were very bright and in constant movement. His wife was a young woman of similar complexion but of stouter build, with full red lips and with very white teeth, which she was fond of showing, by smiling whenever she was spoken to, but she spoke very little herself, leaving that part of their entertainment to her husband. For some time they talked on indifferent subjects; at last Don Gregorio said: "I often pass this way, but I never remember seeing this rancho before." "I have only been here two months, till then I lived with my father over there," replied their host with a jerk of his head. "Are you by chance one of the Vianas?" asked Don Gregorio. "Just so. I am Venceslao Viana, at your service, Señor, and this is my wife. When I married, my father gave me some cows, and I have built this place for myself. We were married at the Guardia, for, as my father said to me, people of family should marry." As the man said this he threw back his head proudly, and his wife smiled at her guests, showing more of her white teeth than ever. They both evidently thought that they had conferred great distinction upon themselves by marrying, as was in fact the case, for among the paisanos in those days marriage was a token of respectability and social standing. "I call myself Gregorio Lopez," said Don Gregorio in reply, "and I congratulate you both." "Many thanks, Señor. Don Gregorio of the Barrancas, is it not so?" "Exactly." "Then we are in some sort relations," answered Venceslao. "To me, no; to this one yes," replied Don Gregorio coldly, and looking at Marcelino. "I knew that Viana's land lay somewhere near here, but I did not know that it reached as far as this." A brother of the second wife of Don Gregorio Lopez the elder, named Francisco Viana, had married a mulatta, and had by so doing lost caste with his own family, and had lived ever since in seclusion on his estancia, so that his existence was unknown to the younger branches of the family of Don Gregorio Lopez, and Marcelino looked curiously at Venceslao, wondering how he could in any way be a relation of his. "I have seen you before," said Venceslao, as he returned his gaze. "Have you? Where? I have not been so far as this since I was a boy," replied Marcelino. "When the English----" "How? Were you with us at Perdriel?" "Yes. I saw you there every day." "And after, what became of you?" "I escaped by a miracle, and came straight back to my father's house."